Lubricator



Oct. 9, 1934. c. P. GRIFFITH ET AL LUBRICATOR Filed Oct. 1, 1932 Patented Oct. 9,

TES

OFFICE I LUBRICATQR Clement P. Griflith and Edwin W. H. Rennick,

Fort Wayne, Ind, assignors to I S. F. Bowser &.

00., Incorporated, Fort-Wayne, 1nd,, a corporation of Indiana Application October 1, 1922', Serial No. 635,800

7 Claims. (Cl-. ,184-+27) Our invention relates in general to lubrication and has more particular reference to an automatic force feed lubricator.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improved force feed lubricator, of the character described in the application of Edwin W. H. Rennick, Serial Number 479,685, filed September 4, 1930, for Lubricator, by efiectmg simplification of the parts and introducing imimproved structures whereby considerable increase in operating efiiciency of the device is accomplished, and whereby the lubricator is rendered more rugged, more easily serviced.

more easily adjustable, and

Among the important objects of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for pumping lubricant to a supply line; to provide a simple, rugged construction including parts which are cheaply and easily manufactured and assembled, and which may be easily demounted for cleaning purposes; to produce a pumping element, which may be installation in the casing of the simplify element,

assembled as a unit for apparatus; 1 to the means for actuating and to provide a simple,

' easily operating adjustment whereby the effective stroke of the pumping element may be regulated easily.

Another important object is to provide, in a device of the class described, a casing having a pump actuator mounted therein and a removable cover for the casing carrying a pump in position to cooperate with the actuating mechanism in a manner permitting separation of the pump and actuator by a simple separational'movement accomplished by removing the cover from the casing.

Numerous other invention objects and advantages of the will be apparent from the following Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through one form of force feed lubricator device embodying our present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken and a through a modified form embodying our present invention.

To illustrate our invention, the drawing, lubricators each we have shown on comprising a casing 11 adapted to contain a supply. of lubricant to be forced into the lubricating system with which the device is associate The casingll is pro cured across the open vided with a cover 1 3 setop of the casing in. any

suitable man er/p eferabl detachably, as y ineans'of bolts 15, which pass through openings 1*7'at the edge of the cover and take into tapped bosses 19' formedin the top of the case 11.

The cover 13 carries the pumping mechanism 5 indicated generally at 21 which depends from the underside of the cover and extends down into the lubricant reservoir contained in the casell. The cover 13 is formed with a boss 23 above the point at which the pumping mechanism is attached to the cover. This boss is formed with a channel 25, which extends through the cover and is provided with an upwardly facing seat 27. on which is mounted a ball check valve 29 normally urged against the seat 27 by means of a spring 31, the upper endof which is seated against a nozzle element 33, which is screw threaded'into the upper end of the channel 25 and which opens into the sight glass 35, which is" preferably filled withfglycerine' '37, so thatjwhen the pumping mechanism is operated, oil will be forced thereby upthrough the channel 25 past the check'valve 29 and into the glycerine contained within'the'sight; glass 35, so as to emerge slowly drop by drop through the nozzle 33 into the glycerine 37. Any suitable means, such as that shown in the aforesaid copending application of Edwin 'W.v H. Rennickrmay be' used for filling the sight glasswith 'g'lycerine, such means being indicated generally at 38.

Inorder that the drops of lubricantmay ascend through the nozzle 33 and, at the same time, be visible through the sight glass 35, the sight glass isfilled with glycerine or some other suitable liquid ofgreater specific gravity than drops of oil will ascend through the transparent liquid and be clearly visible through the "sight glass; The sight glass 35 is preferably' sealed to the upper endfoffthe boss23 in any suitable 'oil so that the manner'as by the gasket 39 and the upper end of 5 the sight glass is provided with a suitable nozzle construction'indicated generally at 41, and which consists ofa'channelled member 4a, the upper end of which is threaded and the lower end ofwhich is secured to the upper end of the sight glass with the channel of the member in communication withthe interior of the sight glass. The lower end of the channelled member 43, in the illustrated em bodiments, is secured to the sight glass by means of an internally threaded sleeve 45 secured in spaced relationship with respect to the boss 23 by suitable fastening means (not shown), which may be formedas integral webs formed on and extending between the parts 23 and 45, preferably 'onfop'posite sides of the sight glass. The

lower end of the sleeve embraces the upper end of the sight glass and an externally threaded bushing 47 is provided, which bushing embraces the channelled member 43, threadingly interconnects with the threads of the cup-shaped member 45, and, upon being threaded into the latter, squeezes a flanged portion 49 0f the channelled member 43 against the upper end of the sight glass, there being, preferably, a sealing gasket 51 mounted between the annular flange 49 and the upper end of the sight glass.

The upper end of the channelled member 43 carries an oil ejecting valve construction 53 001111.- municating with the interior of the channelled member 43, so that oil may pass outwardly of the upper end into the lubricating system being served, which is connected to the device-at the 7 upper threaded end 55 of the valve 53.

The foregoing sight glass and ejector valve construction is clearly illustrated and described in the aforesaid co pending'application of Edwin W. H.

' 'Rennick, Serial Number 479,685; now Patent casing so that, whenftheshaft 971 Number 1,942,450, and does not formarpart of the, present invention.

The pumping mechanism 21 comprises a cylin der 57, having a central channel extending axially thereof, the upper end of the cylinder being threaded to engage in the lower end ofthe l channel 25. The channel 25 is also provided with a shoulder 59 facing downwardly and formed the channel below the ball valve 27, 29, to receive the upper end of. a spring 61, which operates to resiliently urge an upwardly opening ball va1ve63 against the upper end'of the channel '60 when, the cylinder 57 is secured'in place in thecover;

The channel 60 of the cylinder 57 receives the upper end of a plunger65, which is axially reciprocable within the cylinder. Thisplunger con tainsa channel 6.7, the upper end of Whioh'iSp Oe 40 w vided with an upwardly opening ball valve 69, the

lower end of which communicates with an in:

wardly opening ball valve. 71, which connnnmlcates,

directly with the lubricant in the casing 1 1,

In Figure 1 of the drawing, thereciprocable member comprises a smgle'tubular member having a flange '73 at approximately itsjmid point some di tance below the, lower end of the cylin -r. der 57. The cylinder alsohasga, shoulder 7 5 and a sprin'g7'7extends betweenthe collar' Bandthe 50 shoulder to normally urge thev reciprocable member 65 downwardly with respect t o t he cylin: der 57. V r

' L'he lower end of the tubular member 65 also is provided with a cap '79 having a perforation 81 for retaining, theballvalve, 71 inp'lace and, the cap 79 ,carries a strainer 83covering the opening- 81 whereby to filter the oil which'entersisaid open-v ing. The member 65is reciprocatedbyimeansot an actuating member,,85, one end of whiohds arranged, in the form of av downwardly opening ho'okf87, which has, pivotal engagementupo a journal. bar, 89 formed and arrangedfin the, casing 11. I

The actuating member '85 extends from the journal SQb'e'neath the collar 730 the. rfiqiprQrl cable member and has, an opening, 91, t o,,permit said member to extend throughfand QQWI WQIQ of the actuating lever 85. The actuatin jlever i 85' also has a cam following portion 93', which extends to, a position engaging an eccentric cam 95carriedby a shaft, 9,7, which extends intp the casing l'lfand is suitably mounted for rotation in journals'w forined in the sid Wa ls r, h

cam will alternately lift the cam follower 9'3 and rotated; the,

means for 'adjustably limiting its downward movement under the influence of the spring '77,

said limiting means comprising 3 lug 101 formed on the member 85 and perforated to receive the shank of a threaded member 103, which extends upwardly and threadingly engages a threaded portion, 105 on the cover. The upper end of the shank 103 extendsthrough the cover and is provided with a knurled operating nut 1.07, by which the same may be'rotated order to adjust the lower limit of motion of the member 85. The member 103 'may be secured in any desired adjusted position by means of the lock nut 109.

It will be noted that all of the operating mechanism, except the journal pin SQand the actuating cam 95 are mounted on the cover "and that, in

order to remove the operating parts for inspection, it is simply necessary to remove the bolts 15 and lift the cover together with the pumping mechanism from the casing, 11, it being noted that the-cam follower 93 may be lifted from the cam 95 in an upward direction and that the downwardly opening hook 87 may also be removed from the member movement of the part. I

In order to prevent the spring 77 from pushing the member 85 downwardly on the member 65 89 by a simple upward when the parts are so removed from the casing for inspection, the cover carries a bolt 111 threaded at one endinto the cover and extendingdownwardly through an'opening'113 in the member 85 and having-a head 11 5 adapted to engage the lower surfaceof the member 85 in orderto limit its downward movement under the influence of the spring 7'? when the parts are lifted up with the cover and the hook 8'7; disengages the journal rod 89-. V

In Figure 2 of the drawing,- the cylinder 5? is enlargedat its lower end as at 1 17. The reci-procable pumping member, which operates within the cylinder comprises a tubularmember 11-9, which extends in the upper portion of the bore of thecylinder and-is providedwith an upwardly opening ball valve 121, which corresponds to the ball valve 69 of the construction shown in Figure 1. The lower end ofthe tubular member 119 is secured to a member 123, with its bore in communication with a bore 125 formed in the member 123, the upper portions of the member 123 being'slidably mounted in the enlarg'edportion 117 of the channel of the cylinder 57. i

The lower end of the bore 125 communicates with a pipe 1-2'7,-which is threaded into the mem her 123 and which extends downwardly thereofandterminates in an oil inlet construction corresponding to the parts 71; '79 and 81 of the structure shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, the pipe 1-2'7 being provided at its lower end witha cap 1-29'having a perforation 131' and enclosing casing 11 through theopening131 past the valve 133; and into the pipe 127, and thence into the bore ofthe reciprocable m mber.

The cylinder 5'7 has a shoulder- 137 and a spring 139, extendsbetween said shoulder and the portion 123 below the lower end of the cylin- P struction shown in der 5? to normally urge the reciprocable member, comprising the parts 119, 123 and 127 normally downwardly with respect to the cylinder 57.

The lower portion of the'element 123 forms a cam follower corresponding in function to the cam follower 93 shown in Figure 1, and this cam following portion 123 cooperates with the eccentric earn 141 carried on and actuated by a shaft 143, which may be journalled in the walls of-the casing in a manner similar to the'journalling of the shaft 97 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

It should be understood that, uponthe rotation of the shaft 143, the eccentric cam 141 will alternately raise the reciprocable portions of the device upwardly against the resistance of the spring 139 and alternately permit said reciprocable portions to be lowered with respect to'the cylinder 5''! under the urge of the spring 139.

The portion 123 also carries a connecting member 145, which extends upwardly and is provided with a head 147, which slides in a way 149 for-med in a member 151, which is adjustably threaded into the cover 13. 1

The lower end of the member 151 is provided with a stop for limiting the downward movement of the head 147 and hence limiting the downwardly movement of the element 123. The upper end of the member 151 is formed with a manually operable nut 153, by which the elevation of the stop means, with respect to the cover, may be adjusted so that by manipulating the nut 153, the lower limit of the downward movement of the reciprocable member may be adjusted in order to control the stroke of the reciprocable member and hence the quantity of the fluid pumped during each operating cycle of the mechanism.

It will be noted also in connection with the con- Figure 2, that all of the operating parts, with the exception of the cam 141, are mounted and supported on the cover and that the entire mechanism may be removed for inspection simply by removing the bolts 15 and lifting the cover.

The structures illustrated have the further common features that when the reciprocable pump element is moved downwardly, a quantity of oil will be ejected from the upper end of the channel into the bore of the cylinder 57 through the ball valves 69 and 121 at the same instance that a similar quantity of fluid will be introduced into the lower end of the channel 59 through the ball valves 133 and 71.

During the upper stroke of the reciprocable member against the spring 77, the ball valves 69, 121, '71 and 133 will remain closed and will force the oil, distributed in the channel 59 during the previous stroke, upwardly past the ball valve 63 and thence past the ball valve 29 into the sight glass. There is, therefore, provided a multiple pumping action at the bottom of the mechanism, although two relatively movable parts are employed. There is a pumping action at the lower end of the channel of the lubricating member to inject oil from the oil reservoir into the central bore of the reciprocating element and there is another pumping action at the upper end of the bore of the reciprocating member to eject the oil into the channel 59 and thence past the check valves 63 and 29 into the sight glass.

The construction and arrangement of the parts is simple and rugged and it will be apparent that the reciprocating member may be readily removed from the cylinder 57 for repair or replacement since the samelis formed as a unit part. When the reciprocating membergets out of order, or becomes damaged in service, it is simply necessary to lift the top, disconnect the screws 103 and 111, remove the part 85 and withdraw the-element 65, immediately replacing it with a new part in order torecondition the damaged apparatus for service.

Replacement of the the structure shown in since it is merelynecessary to disconnect the rod 145 from the part 123 in order to permit removal of the reciprocating member from the casing.

It is thought that the invention wd numerous of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and'it is obvious thatnumerous changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the several parts without departing-from the spirit or scope of our invention, or sacrificing any of .its attendant advantages,the forms herein described being preferred embodiments for the purposes of illustrating our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A force feed lubricator comprising a rality of separable frame parts, a rockable pump actuating element carried on one of said parts, and a driving element for the actuating element carried on another of said parts, and means to connect the frame parts together in a predetermined relative position so as to support the driving and actuating elements in mutually cooperating position without direct positive connection therebetween, said frame part carrying the driving element having an abutment to rockingly receive and support the actuating element when the frame parts are operatively connected whereby the elements may be disassembled merely by uncoupling the frame members on which each is mounted.

2. In a force feed lubricator comprising a support comprising a casing having a removable cover, a pump comprising a relatively stationary part mounted on the cover, a part relatively movable with respect to the stationary part and normally biased in one direction and means including a member carried by said cover and removable therewith and adapted to tiltably seat upon the casing when the cover is in place, said member operatively engaging the movable part for shifting the same against its bias.

3. In a force feed lubricator comprising a support comprising a casing having a removable cover, a pump comprising a relatively stationary part mounted on the cover, a part relatively movable with respect to the stationary part and normally biased in one direction, means including a member carried by the cover and removable therewith and adapted to tiltingly seat on the casing when the cover is in place, said member cooperatingly engaging the movable part in such a way that the latter holds the member on its seat, and means to move the member on its seat to shift the movable member against its bias.

4. In a force feed lubricator, a support, a pump-carrying member removable on the support, a pump on the pump-carrying member, including a relatively shiftable pump element, a pump actuating lever carried by the pump carrying member and adapted to fulcrum on said support, said pump element being normally biased toward the actuating lever, and means located in position on the support to shift the lever and reciprocating member in Figure 2 is equally simple plucause it to move the pump element periodically against its bias, said pump-carrying member being demountable from thesupport in a direction causing the direct separation of the pump actuating lever and the driving means.

5. A force feed lubricator of simplified, construction, comprising means forming a lubricant container having a bearing abutment and a re-- movable cover, means forming relatively reciprocable cooperating pump parts carried by and mounted solely onthe cover in position to extend into the lubricant container, a tiltable lever carried by the cover to reciprocate the pump parts, said leverbeing carried in position; to removably fulcrum upon said bearing abutment and to cooperatively associate with driving means mounted on the lubricant container in order to impart relative movement to the pump parts whereby when the cover is mounted on the container, the leveris supported in operative position with respect to the driving vmeans, the operative parts of the pump being bodily removable from the driving means and the lubricant container by simply removing the cover and withdrawing the pump parts therewith.

6. In a force feed lubricator comprising a support comprising a casing having a removable cover, a pump comprising a relatively stationary part mounted on the cover, a part relatively .movable with respect to the stationary part and normally biased in one direction, means including a member carried by said cover and removable therewith and adapted to tiltably seat porc es upon the casing when the coveris in place, said member operatively engaging the movable part for shifting the same against its bias, and adjustable means carried by said removable cover and co-operativelyassociated with said member to control the tilting movement thereof and thereby regulate the stroke of the relatively movable pump part. v V v "7. A force feed lubricator of simplified construction comprising means forming a lubricant container having a bearing abutment and a removable cover, means forming relatively reciprocable cooperating pump parts carried by and mounted solely onthe coverin position to extend into the lubricant container, a tiltable lever carried by the cover to reciprocate the pump parts, said lever being carried in position to removably fulcrum upon said bearing abutment and to co operatively associate with driving means mounted on the lubricant container in order to'impart relative movement to the pump" parts whereby when the cover is mounted on the container, the lever is supported inoperative position with respect to the driving means, the operative parts of the pump being bodily removable from the driving means and the lubricant container by simply removing the cover and withdrawing the pump parts therewith, and means carried by the removable cover and operable to adjust the tiltable lever to control the displacement of the reciprocable pump parts.

CLEMENT P. GRIFFITH. EDWIN W. H. RENNICK. 

